Sharks director of rugby Jake White has praised his side after they fought back from a seven-point deficit to get over the Highlanders in the final minutes of their must win final in Durban. White also hailed the replacement half-back pairing of Pat Lambie and Charl McLeod who took to the field in the final 20-minutes.

"As a whole, the bench definitely helped us," White said. "There's no doubt when we get Charl and Pat, senior players that have been there and they understand the pressures. Frans himself said to me after the game, when they walked on, he just got a sense of calmness from both of them being around."

In a tough match-up White described the side's final 20-minutes as "some of the best rugby we played all season", coinciding with the return of star fly-half Lambie following a near four-month injury lay-off.

"I'm very proud of the way they came back," White said after the game. "I thought the last 20 minutes we played really well. It was some of our best rugby in terms of linking our forwards and backs."

However the win came at a cost with lock Anton Bresler ruled out of the semi-final against the Crusaders in Christchurch with a rib injury, while fellow second-rower Stephan Lewies, who was late withdrawal due to a knee complaint, is expected to make a return.